But after recovering from a shaky
start, Wales deserved the win which will give their confidence a boost
ahead of Tuesday night’s match against England at Wembley.

Four defeats out of five had left
Speed’s side grasping for any positives. But they created their own good
fortune last night in front of a sparse Cardiff City Stadium crowd.

Speed said: ‘I’m pleased the work we have been doing for the past six months has come to fruition.

‘The players have put in plenty of
effort tonight and been rewarded. But you do need a result like that to
instill some belief into them.

‘It’s still a work in progress. There
were encouraging signs. But we are under no illusions. There is a lot
of hard work ahead of us.’

Despite the heartening result, the real benefactors from last night were England.

Wales did them a huge favour by
defeating their nearest rivals for top spot in the group. Moreover,
Craig Bellamy and David Vaughan both picked up bookings — which mean
they will miss the trip to north London.

On the road: Montenegro fans get behind their team

‘It’s hard on them both,’ said Speed. ‘And particularly on Craig. It wasn’t even a foul, let alone a booking that he picked up.

‘I’ve told them that they will be
welcome to travel with us. Craig has a few things to sort out with
Liverpool but I’d be happy to see both of them join the squad.’ Wales
grew into the game after a sluggish start and it was energetic play from
Vaughan that led to them taking the lead.

Bale out: Spurs winger Gareth Bale takes a tumble

The ball had been worked between Neil
Taylor and Bellamy on the left but the move did not look to be heading
anywhere until Vaughan picked up possession and the pace. Aaron Ramsey
helped by standing in the way of Vaughan’s run and the Sunderland
midfielder’s low cross was spilled by keeper Mladen Bozovic. Morison
managed to adjust his feet and lift a shot into the empty goal.

Great start: Morison breaks the deadlock for the home side

That sparked the hosts’ best spell.
Bale saw a vicious 30-yard drive tipped over the bar and Ashley
Williams’s header was hacked off the line. Five minutes after the
interval, Wales doubled their lead. Williams was slightly fortunate that
what was little more than a hopeful clearance down the right was picked
up by Bale.

The Tottenham star then showed his
class by picking out Ramsey. The skipper stayed calm and slotted home
his fourth goal for his country.

Shortly afterwards Ramsey was
withdrawn. Speed insisted afterwards it was cramp. Whether it was or
not, Wales found themselves on the back foot as Montenegro sensed
nervousness and pushed forwards.

Back in it: Stevan Jovetic fires home for Montenegro

Steven Jovetic, Fiorentina’s highly
rated forward, set home hearts fluttering when he stepped inside and
found a fierce finish 19 minutes from time. But Wales held firm and
could have added to their own score with both Bellamy and Bale causing
trouble on the flanks.As it was, the final whistle was greeted with a
huge cheer. This was Wales’s first win at home in a qualification game
since beating Liechtenstein 2-0 in February 2008.

For whom the Bell tolls: Craig Bellamy in action for Wales

And now attentions will turn to Fabio Capello’s side on Tuesday.

‘We don’t have any fear when we play England, we felt this result was coming,’ said Bale.

‘Playing England will be tough,’ added Ramsey. ‘But we have played a good team today. We can take heart from that.’

While the gap between these two was
never a huge chasm in either fixture, it seems the true test of whether
or not Welsh football has entered a new dawn is just around the corner.